It takes a certain warped, but beautiful, mind to come up with a description of a retirement home/hospice as a “five star elephant burial ground” (p. 156). Right there, one gets the picture of Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive entwined with something unnatural, death. Of course, in Cut, Paste, Kill as in the other Lomax and Biggs mysteries, there is often a wild and, often, unsettling mix of celebrities and cadavers. In one such case in Cut, Paste, Kill who would have believed that some of the unsuccessful screenwriting being perpetrated by one of the protagonists could possible foreshadow actual events.
Cut, Paste, Kill features a “scrapbooker” who creates memorabilia based on people who “get away with” spectacular crimes. But, being unsatisfied with mere vicarious recording/preserving the evidence of injustices, this “scrapbooker” decides to put, presumably, her scissors to more direct use. The first twist of this novel is that all of the victims are so “deserving” of their demises that it’s hard to believe that it is the job of the protagonists to bring the “scrapbooker” himself/herself to justice. The second twist is that the case is closed at the approximate center of the book. Obviously, the alert reader is going to be very suspicious that the wrong perpetrator has been charged. In this case, there is definite ambiguity involved. In fact, the final solution has a definite ambiguity.
Best of all, I can honestly say that I was way, way late figuring out the “scrapbooker.” I fell for any bit of misdirection offered up by Marshall Karp during this one. That seems strange considering how early I figured out Flipping Out, but I like it when that happens—especially when all the clues are there.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed about both of the Lomax and Bigg’s novels that I’ve read was the interplay between Lomax and his father, Big Jim. My own father was never as obnoxious as Big Jim happens to be (or as well off financially—grin), but I used to know that feeling of wishing the old man would just “butt out.” My Dad also knew very few boundaries with regard to my private life (at least, it seemed so at the time, but I found out later that there were some very important times when he deliberately backed off) and, sometimes, he was embarrassing to me (though, at times, he made me very proud and, right now, I’m more embarrassed about being embarrassed than by anything he did). So, that family problem seems to make these stories feel that much more real to me.
Cut, Paste, Kill features examples of both dysfunctional families and endearing families (even temporary families). It was really interesting to see Lomax becoming “domesticated” and realizing how fulfilling even a temporary relationship with a child can be. As a former foster parent and adoptive parent, I could identify with that, too. In fact, the child in question is a precocious Chinese girl and one of my adoptive children is a brilliant young woman who had one Chinese parent. So, some of the really insightful things this fictional girl understood reminded me of my own daughter. That was delightful.
In fact, I found Cut, Paste, Kill to be considerably more delightful than Flipping Out. This was just the “pick-me-up” I needed when I read it. My especial gratitude to my brother who not only introduced me to this series but gave me some of the books.